Toast Jr
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|  #1 Posted on 28.10.18 1119.21
Reposted on: 28.10.25 1120.49 | I started typing stuff in the Evolution prediction thread, but thought Naw, this deserves its own thread.
Have people been watching the MYC this year? If not, you probably should. As kind of lackluster as last year's tournament was, this year's is that much better. For starters, Renee Young, Micheal Cole and Beth Phoenix have some really nice chemistry on commentary. I like Beth on color quite a bit, the color guys so rarely play face and its a nice way to freshen things up. Micheal Cole always sounds so happy when he can just call a wrestling match and not have someone in his headset or have to push other things (see: the first UK tournament).
And of course, let us not forget the drama of the bracket. Will Quezzy retain his Mae Young Classic bracket master crown, or will challenger Tenken steal it away? It all comes down to the final for who wins bragging rights and maybe junk food from KJames. I, myself, have third place sewn pretty tightly up. I'm number 3! I'm number 3!
The overall story of the Mae Young Classic has been Toni Storm clawing her way past each opponent, barely scraping by a win, while Io Shirai has been absolutely demolishing her opponents on the way to the final (the only person to give Shirai a hard time was Rhea Ripley, and once Shirai took the skies it was all over). Storm and Shirai are on a collision course to Evolution and either one would be a good winner and have a good ending to the story.
If you can't handle 700 more hours of wrestling, here are the matches I thought were the highlights:
Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez has been the match of the tournament. It would be a strong contender for Match of the Year if we lived in a world where Johnny Gargano didn't exist. This match had technical graps, strong strikes, high flying and everything in between. There was solid storytelling and high drama. When it was over Cole said it was one the best times he's had calling a match. If you only watch one MYC match, watch this one.
If you watch two MYC matches, also watch Satomura vs. Toni Storm. In the package leading up to the match, it is revealed that the two only wrestled once before in Japan, and the match ended in a draw. The drama factor is high in this one, with near falls aplenty and both ladies pulling out all the stops as they get more and more desperate. It is reminiscent of the Perkins/Ibushi match from the CWC.
Other good matches are Storm vs. Mia Yim and Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley. Mia Yim has been tearing it up on the indies this past year, and looked excellent in this match. She has come a long way from jobbing to Charlotte on NXT. After the match Triple H surprises Yim in the parking lot by offering her an NXT contract. Awww, so cute.
Ripley gets my vote for most improved over last year's tournament. She's running a Pete Dunn-esque gimmick, and having some focus for her ringwork has helped immensely. I wasn't sure at the time if she was supposed to go as far as she did in the tournament, but the match with Shirai made her. Ripley was the first person to put up any sort of challenge for Shirai and it made her look strong. ON the other hand, she is the NXT UK women's champ, so maybe she was suppose to go to the final four? Who can say?
If you didn't see, Tegan Nox legit hurt her *other* leg about a minute into her match with Ripley and it ended with a forfeit when she couldn't continue. Poor Tegan Nox, it just isn't meant to be.
other things of note:
Nicole Mathews could not stay in her top the entire time in her match with Nox. There are weird edits everywhere and Mathews is constantly stopping to try to contain her boobs. It's too bad, because with better flow this could have been a good match. Instead it just ended up being kind of funny.
Lacey Lane made it waaaaaaay farther than she had any right. She's not bad or anything, but she's not really good either. Mostly she is just very green. She does have the most important thing for a woman in WWE to have: A crap-ton of hair. I imagine this is what pushed her so far. Don't think for a second Mia's extensions didn't help her land that NXT deal.
WWE surprised me by not pushing American Ninja Warrior to the moon. She's moderately famous for something else! Kacy Cantazaro also isn't bad per see, but she is so new she isn't anything. She is whatever comes before green. Yellow? Don't worry, I'm sure she will debut on RAW in a few months as the only person who could ever defeat Ronda Rousey.
Overall this is a much better showing than last year's Mae Young Classic and doesn't feel so rushed and half-assed. More matches were good than bad, and some were great.
| Promote this thread! |             | Quezzy
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| #2 Posted on 28.10.18 1202.36
Reposted on: 28.10.25 1203.51 | I second pretty much all of your recommendations. You really can't go wrong with just watching every Satomura match. Her match with Killer Kelly is up there too, definitely the best first round match. Then when you're done go watch her some more on YouTube. I know she's had matches against Asuka (Kana), Kairi and Io so you might be able to find them. Also I haven't watched it yet but some people are saying that her match with Kay Lee Ray at Pro Wrestling Eve's Wrestle Queendom is the best women's match of the year and I know that is on YouTube.
Originally posted by Toast Jr
Ripley gets my vote for most improved over last year's tournament. She's running a Pete Dunn-esque gimmick, and having some focus for her ringwork has helped immensely. I wasn't sure at the time if she was supposed to go as far as she did in the tournament, but the match with Shirai made her. Ripley was the first person to put up any sort of challenge for Shirai and it made her look strong. ON the other hand, she is the NXT UK women's champ, so maybe she was suppose to go to the final four? Who can say?
If you didn't see, Tegan Nox legit hurt her *other* leg about a minute into her match with Ripley and it ended with a forfeit when she couldn't continue. Poor Tegan Nox, it just isn't meant to be.
There was one report going around that Tegan Nox was slated to go to the FINALS. Which means she was going to beat Ripley AND Io Shirai, which would be a pretty huge push to have her knock out Shirai. I'm not sure if I buy it, but I think at the very least Tegan was probably slated to beat Rhea and Tegan was probably supposed to win the UK Title too so Rhea may have benefit in both. She's a good choice though, she has tons of potential.
Kacy is definitely "yellow" but she's bursting with personality and likability on top of whatever fame she has. I think she's going to be a better Bayley than Bayley. Everyone thought Bayley would be a huge babyface because of her gimmick but honestly Bayley doesn't have the personality. She's kind of quiet and timid and actual seems really awkward in clips I've seen her with fans but Kacy seems really friendly and outgoing. I think fans are going to LOVE her.
I was disappointed in Shirai's showing although it was mostly her match ups, they did her no favors by giving her a pretty weak lineup. Last year Kairi had a monster lineup to let her showcase her abilities. That's why, even though I want Shirai to win (because I like her better and I'll win the Mae Young Bracket!) I really think Toni is probably going to win because they gave her the best lineup to showcase her. They probably don't want Stardom wrestlers to win two years in a row either. Although I wouldn't object to Stardom wrestlers winning every year. Bring on Mayu Iwatani!
On a sidenote, I LOVE Shirai's suicide dive. Honestly I'm not even sure what the goal is with most suicide dives where the person jumps out head first and tries to hit the other person. Like are you trying to hit them with your head? Your shoulder? Are you supposed to hit them with your hands, because that always look terrible when you do a "high risk maneuver" just to shove someone with your hands. But Io's suicide dive she goes through the ropes sideways instead of head on so that she lands on the opponent more like a cross body. It's so great. It's the only suicide dive I like. Her moonsault is usually great too, although she didn't land it as accurately in this tournament as she normally does. | Tenken347
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| #3 Posted on 29.10.18 0735.13
Reposted on: 29.10.25 0736.00 | Victory! I claim the tribute of Canadian snacks that is my right as champion! Seriously, though, great final match with some serious high-drama spots. There's no denying that this year's MYC was an actual classic. If they can pull this off every year, we'll be set. In fact, if they could do a weekly show half as good as the tournament's been every week, I'd watch it.
Nobody's started an Evolution results thread yet, but I'd also like to jump in and say that was a really, really good show, maybe the best WWE's put on this year, and for once that's saying something. | MoeGates
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| #4 Posted on 29.10.18 2232.35
Reposted on: 29.10.25 2233.48 | Originally posted by Quezzy
It's so great. It's the only suicide dive I like.
BLASPHEMY
[Raw Spoilers] Impressive Suicide Dive
(edited by MoeGates on 29.10.18 2333)
(image removed)
(edited by MoeGates on 29.10.18 2336)
(edit: image embedding - JK)
(edited by KJames199 on 30.10.18 0815) | | ALL ORIGINAL POSTS IN THIS THREAD ARE NOW AVAILABLE |
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